‘Another patient in the slums.’
The alleyways behind the slums marked the boundary of the city with a single hill.
As if scared away, the light rapidly disappeared when entering this area, nicknamed the “Darkness of the capital”.
The hopeless eyes of wandering vagrants, the drunken shouts of men; everything was a mess, as if to prove that even darkness had diverse colors.
‘Every time I come here, it seems more broken.’
It was particularly eerie today. Sena hoped this was just a metaphor.
“Is this your first time in the slums?”
“It’s not. I’m quite familiar with this place.”
“You? That’s hard to believe. The people here wouldn’t leave someone like you alone. This is a place where nobles who come without guards are found with their limbs cut off the next day.”
“…Do you have to scare me like that?”
“Are you scared?”
Garumel glanced at Sena. But seeing the bright, clear blue eyes that shone even in the darkness, he quietly understood.
Light never fears the dark.
They walked past shacks that grew haphazardly like weeds, down winding paths.
Not all slums were the same. Naturally, the closer to the capital, the better the environment. Like the house Serilda lived in.
But where Garumel was heading was deep within the slums. Sena had never ventured this far in.
“We’re here.”
Just as Sena was about to suggest a break, Garumel stopped walking.
A large wooden box appeared. It looked like a box used to supply goods to ships. In modern terms, a container box.
“…Surely, you’re not saying someone lives here.”
The box must have drifted into the slums. Its condition was terrible. The gaps and cracks would make it a disaster in the rain, let alone serving its original purpose of carrying goods.
“You didn’t even flinch at the dung scattered on the streets, but this surprises you?”
“That’s different. No one could live here. They’d catch a cold every day.”
“Don’t worry. No one lives here. I just gathered them.”
“Gathered them?”
“There’s a reason. I needed to keep them out of sight. But more importantly…”
Garumel glanced at the four-leaf clover Sena was holding dearly.
“Are you really going to treat them for 1 shilling?”
“Of course not.”
“Well, I didn’t mean it seriously either. I’ll pay you well.”
“No. You’ve already paid.”
“I only remember giving you that leaf.”
‘A leaf, how rude.’
Sena’s lips twitched but he held back and spoke.
“The girl’s payment, remember? Consider it a reward for good deeds.”
“Quite the saint, aren’t you?”
Garumel scratched his ear.
Sena put the glass jar with the four-leaf clover into his pocket and said,
“The patient is here, right? Let’s go in.”
“Wait. There’s something to discuss first.”
Garumel stopped Sena from walking and approached him closely.
Looking down at Sena with a stern face, he asked,
“You’re really not connected to the Church?”
“I wouldn’t say I have no connection. My father is a priest.”
“…What?”
Garumel frowned. Damn, he should have checked this beforehand.
He was too captivated by Sena’s mysterious aura to ask.
“Why didn’t you mention it before?”
Sena replied with a sour face.
“You didn’t ask.”
“Damn.”
Garumel rubbed the back of his neck, looking frustrated.
“Then things are different. I can’t let you in here. Sorry, but let’s forget this.”
“Will the patient disappear if we forget this?”
Naturally, Sena wasn’t convinced. He was full of questions. What’s with this guy?
“Sorry to waste your time, but we have our reasons.”
“Whatever the reason, there’s still a patient.”
“I’m telling you, that reason no longer exists. It’s none of your concern. Besides, if I’m okay with it, what’s the problem?”
“I didn’t come here because of your request, Lord Garumel. I came because I heard there’s a patient.”
Sena looked straight at him. Garumel felt conflicted. He was weak against people with such a look, unsure of how to deal with them.
“It’s not a significant person. I brought you just in case.”
“To me, anyone who is sick is the same.”
While they were arguing, the door opened. A cute little girl appeared.
The young girl was visibly carrying dirty water. The bucket was rusty.
She smiled brightly at Garumel, then became dazed upon seeing Sena and stumbled.
Sena reflexively approached. He couldn’t catch her because of the distance.
“Are you okay?”
She had fallen rather hard because she was carrying a heavy bucket. Seeing her scraped knees, the girl began to tear up.
Sena quickly covered the wound with his hand and said,
“I’ll show you something amazing.”
In the tear-filled eyes of the young girl, Sena’s face was reflected. Sena closed his eyes briefly.
Then—
White lights floated around Sena. The girl forgot her tears and exclaimed, “Wow!” with her mouth wide open.
“Pretty…!”
“Right? This is one of the few things I am proud of. And voila.”
Sena removed his hand from the wound. It wasn’t completely healed, but the deep scrape had turned into a minor scratch.
“It’s all better.”
“Wow…!”
The girl looked at Sena with admiration.
“Are you a magician?”
“No, I’m a healer.”
“No way! I saw a healer today who couldn’t do anything. My mom is still sick and lying down.”
Sena smiled brightly.
“I’m a very skilled healer.”
“Really…?”
“Of course. Didn’t you see? I healed your wound quickly, right? You can trust me. Your mom will get better soon.”
Sena patted the girl’s head. The girl, enjoying Sena’s touch, smiled brightly and then asked with wide eyes,
“But are you really a brother? You look like a sister.”
“…”
A young child couldn’t tell a lie.
‘At that age, they think anyone with long hair is a girl. Yep.’
As Sena was reassuring himself, Garumel approached. Sena stood up with a serious face. He had just made a promise. If stopped, he would have had to use force.
‘Who knew I’d have to use this wooden sword.’
Even so, he was the top of the Academy’s swordsmanship club. But fortunately, Sena did not have to use the small wooden sword that was tailored for Astria’s body.
Garumel, seeing Sena treating the child without hesitation, changed his mind.
“…I’d like to keep what happened here a secret from everyone. Even if we can’t cure them.”
As long as he could heal the sick, it didn’t matter. He nodded.
**
‘What kind of talent does this kid have?’
The child’s lifespan was [60225].
Approximately 165 years.
She had an incredibly long life ahead.
Of course, an ordinary human couldn’t live that long.
Only an Archmage or a Master could. In other words, this child had extraordinary potential.
Right now, she was just a chubby-cheeked little girl.
‘I shouldn’t interfere unnecessarily.’
There was the option of recommending her to Astria as a talent, but Sena didn’t prefer that method.
The fact that her lifespan was such meant that she would naturally grow splendidly in the future.
Interfering clumsily might lead to worse results.
“There are quite a few patients, huh?”
Inside the box, there were about four patients lying on beds. The hard wooden beds were considered excellent in the slums.
“If you’re surprised by this, you won’t be ready. There are more inside.”
Garumel pointed to a tent. There seemed to be more space beyond.
Hearing there were more patients, Sena was a bit surprised and smiled awkwardly.
‘I’m going to be late.’
Astria had granted him three hours, but that time was almost up.
If he treated them all, he wouldn’t return until late at night.
“That’s my mom! Healer, healer. Can you really heal my mom?”
“Of course. Just a moment.”
Sena stood by the bed. The woman had a pale face. She was unconscious, but her breathing was labored.
[1]
‘She looks like a pr*stitute.’
Her heavy makeup was noticeable.
The first suspicion was poisoning. In this era, it was common for makeup to contain lead or mercury. Drugs could also be a possibility, given the environment.
Sena placed his hand on her forehead first. Even before he used ‘his medical skill’ to check internally, he was startled by her high fever.
High fever, difficulty breathing, and some other symptoms.
“How’s my mom?”
“Kid, when did your mom start feeling sick?”
“I’m not a kid! I’m Perna!”
“Sorry, sorry. Can you tell me, Perna? When did your mom start feeling sick, and what did she say hurt?”
“Since she came back from work yesterday! She suddenly said she felt dizzy, then she collapsed and hasn’t woken up.”
Perna looked sullenly at her mother.
“All the patients here show the same symptoms.”
Garumel, who had been watching with his arms crossed, said.
“Strangely so.”
“All of them, the same?”
“Yes.”
‘Influenza?’
The first thing that came to mind was the flu. Sena pulled back the blanket and inspected her body.
Then he noticed it. Her fingertips were blackened and necrotic.
“…”
Sena’s usually gentle expression hardened instantly.
Garumel understood. He, too, couldn’t control his expression when he first saw it.
But Sena’s expression hardened for a different reason.
A dreadful possibility. A continuously growing ominous feeling.
“You said there are more patients.”
“Yes. These here are the ones in relatively good condition. The severe cases are isolated.”
Before Garumel could even finish answering, Sena was already moving.
His heart was racing. He desperately hoped it wasn’t ‘that’.
He roughly pulled back the tent flap. The stench of sweat and pus hit him.
About ten people were lying there. Their lifespans were all at [0]. Some were already dead.
What stood out the most was the blackened, burned-looking skin.
The moment suspicion became certainty.
The devil whispered in Sena’s ear. ‘Plague’, it said.
“…The Black Death.”
Commonly known as the plague.
In a time without antibiotics, it had a 100% mortality rate, causing the most deaths in human history.
The horrific reality he had only seen in faint black-and-white photos during medical school was now before him.
Sena had never seen a more dreadful sight.
